The invention relates to soil aerating devices and more particularly, to soil aerating devices of the type adapted to be connected to a powered vehicle, such as a tractor, truck, utility vehicle and the like, for towing over the ground or turf to be aerated.
Soil aerating devices are commonly used for aerating golf course greens, fairways, and tees, playing fields, lawns and the like. One type of such device includes one or more cylindrical members or drums carrying a plurality of core-forming elements which penetrate the ground to remove plugs or cores of soil and/or grass as the drum is rolled over the surface of the turf to be aerated. The drum(s) is usually rotatably supported on a frame which is pivotally hitched to a powered vehicle, such as a tractor, truck, utility vehicle and the like, and a powerlift mechanism is provided for selectively raising and/or lowering the drum relative to the turf. In order to obtain full penetration of the core-forming elements, some prior art constructions have been arranged in a manner so that a portion of the vehicle weight is transferred to the drum. However, such constructions often are quite complicated and/or are not arranged to assure uniform pentration of the core-forming elements when the drum travels over an uneven turf, particularly over bumps or hills which can cause a portion of the weight to be lifted from the rear wheels of the vehicle with a resultant loss in traction.
Examples of prior art constructions of soil aerating devices including means for transferring a portion of the vehicle weight to a drum carrying core-forming elements are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
Dedoes, 3,643,746 issued Feb. 22, 1972; PA1 Dedoes, 3,650,331 issued Mar. 21, 1972; PA1 Dedoes, 3,650,332 issued Mar. 21, 1972; PA1 Dedoes, 3,756,203 issued Sept. 4, 1973.
Attention is also directed to Boxrud U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,249 issued July 18, 1967 which discloses a soil sampling device employing a lift mechanism which is arranged so that the vehicle weight is transferred to a cylindrical member carrying soil probe.